Jeppesen Marine Supports ECDIS Training

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Jeppesen Marine is contributing to the training of the next generation of seafarers in electronic navigational charts and ECDIS by supplying systems and data to one of Norway’s maritime training institutions, Bergen Maritime Technical School. In addition to the C-MAP Professional vector database and ENCs that Jeppesen Marine already supplies for the school’s bridge simulators, the company will now supply 50+ C-MAP OceanView systems for route planning in an office environment.

“I got the idea from the Norwegian Coastal Administration,” said Kåre A. Johnsen, the school’s navigation and bridge simulation instructor. “They decided to equip all pilots with laptop computers and electronic chart systems after the Rocknes accident. I thought, ‘shouldn’t we, as a training institution, be equal to, or even exceed, the authorities?’ I believe that it is a landmark in maritime training to offer the kind of functionality that we now offer, thanks to Jeppesen Marine.”

With Jeppesen Marine’s C-MAP OceanView product, students at the Bergen Maritime Technical School will be able to download necessary electronic charts onto their PCs for route planning. This route planning process will allow the students to consider the correct route, taking depth, speed and navigational aids into account. Even weather will play into this process, as prognoses can be shown on the electronic charts. Eventually, this route forms the basis for further work on the school’s ECDIS stations and bridge simulators.

Route planning at an office work station, which C-MAP OceanView facilitates, is a popular application with shipowners and fleet management companies, who use it to organize efficient global fleet movements. Kåre Johnsen of the Bergen Maritime School believes that C-MAP OceanView offers students an introduction to electronic charts, which continues at an ECDIS work station and finally a bridge simulator. The main benefit is increased contact with and training on electronic charts.